Pennsylvania DUI Statistics

On average, someone is killed by a drunk driver in the United States every 45 minutes. This equates to the death of 29 people in the United States every single day as the result of drunk driving. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2016 alone 10,497 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. That year, alcohol-impaired driving accounted for 28% of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.

In just Pennsylvania, in 2016, there were 10,256 alcohol-related crashes. Of those crashes, 297 resulted in fatalities. In 2017, there was a total of 10,346 alcohol-related crashes in Pennsylvania, 293 of which resulted in death. This means that in Pennsylvania, in 2017, an average of 28 alcohol-related traffic crashes occurred every day, and of these crashes, an average of 18 Pennsylvanians were injured.

The CDC also reports that in 2016, more than 1 million drivers in the United States were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or narcotics. Nationwide, drugs other than alcohol are involved in about 16% of motor vehicle crashes, this includes illegal drugs and prescription drugs. The CDC also reports that marijuana use is increasing and 13% of nighttime, weekend drivers have marijuana in their system. Marijuana users were also 25% more likely to be involved in crashes than those drivers with no signs of marijuana use.

All states, including Pennsylvania, will continue to take legal actions to prevent drinking and driving. These actions which will likely lead to greater DUI arrests in the upcoming years.